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San Diego Model Railroad Museum

Part of Downtown, Balboa Park & Central, our guide to downtown San Diego, Balboa Park and the central neighborhoods.

The San Diego Model Railroad Museum shows large model train layouts and a Toy Train Gallery. It is open Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Residents of San Diego get free general admission on the second Thursday of the month, except December.Checked October 22, 2026.

11–4Wed to Sun
Free2nd Thursday for residents
2big layouts plus toy train gallery
1649El Prado
A model freight locomotive on a layout at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum
A model freight locomotive on a layout at the museum. Joseph Bylund, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Address1649 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101. Phone (619) 696-0199.
HoursWednesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Open Labor Day and October 12; closed Thanksgiving; open Black Friday.

Layouts

The site names the Pacific Desert Lines layout and the Toy Train Gallery, with the Freight and Flora exhibit.

San Diego Model Railroad Museum Open the map. © OpenStreetMap contributors.

What We Could Not Verify

  • Admission prices were not on the page read; see the museum site.

More in Downtown, Balboa Park & Central

FAQ

Is it free on any day?

Residents get free admission on the second Thursday, except December, per balboapark.org.

Sources

  1. San Diego Model Railroad Museum
  2. Resident Free Days

Checked October 22, 2026 by It’s San Diego. Cite this page: It’s San Diego (itssandiego.com), checked October 22, 2026. Free to quote with a link to this page; tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.